Spicy Eggplant/Aubergine (Balado Terong Ungu)

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. Instead of asking me to cook fancy foods, he asked me to make balado terong the spicy one. So yes, I made this specially for him and I made it really really spicy.

Ingredients:
- 3 eggplant/aubergine, cut it in the middle longwise, and then cut into 5cm in length, put it in an oven for 30min at 350F, flip it over in the mid way.
- 16 chili paddy/bird's eye chili (consider to reduce the number please...)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 1 tsp of shrimp paste
- 1 tomato, cut into 12
- 3 lime leaves
- salt
- sugar
- 100ml water
- oil for saute

In a chopper, chop chili, garlic, onion, tomato and shrimp paste until coarse smooth. Saute it with a little bit of oil for 3minutes. Add salt and sugar and continue to cook and stir constantly. Add some water and continue to cook until boiling. Add the lime leaves and stir it well. Add the baked eggplant, stir it and cook for another 10minutes.

To accompany this spicy food, I also made fried vermicelli (see the recipe here). In Chinese's belief, consuming any kind of noodles on your birthday is a symbol of long-life wish. Happy birthday dear!